At Abergeldie our aim is to build better communities. We are in the privileged position of being able to do this on a very tangible level by building infrastructure such as water and sewage treatment plants, bridges and walkways and that directly improve communities and make them more sustainable. It goes further than that though. Since the company started in 1994, we have always adopted a policy of giving back to the community. This stems from the mindset of the founder, Mick Boyle, who strongly believes the cohesiveness of our society relies on people giving their time, experience and resources to assist others. The original business plan included giving a set percentage of turn-over (not profit) to charitable organisations. This policy continues to this day and allows us to create reliable, long term relationships with key community organisations.

Time is often more valuable than funds. For this reason, we offer our staff volunteering opportunities such as through our support of the Western Sydney Vinnies Van and the CEO Sleepout. We have sent whole work crews out to help communities, such as during the Brisbane floods in 2011 and the Poppy Park event in Penrith for the ANZAC Day centenary. We also enter team fundraising events such as the Oxfam Trailwalker.

Knowledge and guidance are also valuable qualities for community groups. We encourage our staff to participate on boards and advisory committees for peak bodies such as the Civil Contractors Federation, charities such as WaterAid and educational institutions such as Sydney University. This helps these organisations to run more efficiently, but also allows leadership and mentoring experiences as well as networking opportunities for those involved.

More recently we have turned our focus to sustainability. We have reviewed waste management and energy usage at our main facilities and have adopted CSR targets based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on key projects and company procedures. These day to day operations will be monitored, reviewed and improved over time. In a potentially more impactful advance, we are using our strong engineering and construction expertise to research ways to tackle broader issues such as renewable energy storage and waste management using our world leading shaft drilling technology.

Increasingly we are using our business platform to show leadership on issues we feel strongly about. That is why we are committed members of Sustainable Business Australia and recently published a Climate Change Policy advocating a fair and planned transition towards a renewable energy future.

By adopting and promoting this approach to business we hope to lead by example and encourage other companies and organisations follow suit - thereby supporting our aim to build better communities.